2013 no power, no start

[okmitch77]

Hey all, I have a 2013 1500 5.7 with a no electric, no start condition. Turned the truck off to go to the post office, came back and opened the door and I do not have my gauge cluster, lights, and no click or anything when i try to start. Got battery tested and its good. I have noticed one thing however, when I stick the fob into the ignition the rpm and speedometer move up to the 0 line and will hold and I also can see the display darken. That is the only action this truck has lol. I gave the relays and fuses a once over, also swapped out the relays to see if i could make the problem move and no luck. I was a mechanic in the Army for 25 years and this to me sounds like the ECM could be the culprit, however I know how important grounds are with electric problems. Just a couple of notes, this truck doesn't have remote start and the only mods is a bullydog tune. I can easily take the tune off this thing, and thats what I plan on doing because if this thing has to go to the dealer they will flash it and i will lose it. So, who feels like helping a fella out with some tips?

Thanks for reading this mess.

 

[crash68]

It wouldn't be the ECM that shuts every down it would probably be the BCM (Body Control Module).
Have you tried disconnecting the battery for a few minutes

 

[okmitch77]

Yes, I have disconnected the battery for at least 30 minutes while I made my son take me and the battery to AutoZone to get it tested. It tested good. I wasn't aware of a BCM, where would that be located? Also, thanks for the advice.

 

[crash68]

The BCM is under the dash, behind the brake pedal on the firewall.

 

[okmitch77]

Thank you, that sounds easy to kick. Maybe i hit something. Will check first thing in the morning.

 

[Jeepwalker]

Start with battery connections, a battery LOAD test (not VOM test). Low or weak batteries cause all sorts of problems on these trucks that owners are always amazed by. Mine did that once a couple years ago where it just died. I spent all morning running errands, a handful of different stores. Then one time ...bingo, no-go. Dead. Lot of wierd warnings. Turned out to be the battery. It was good all morning, then suddenly it wasn't. It measured good with a meter, but failed a load test spectacularly! LOL. Lot of guys on this forum have experienced something similar. If that turns out to be the problem, it would be an easy fix.

Also, Bad ground cable ...There's a starter relay in the fusebox (swap a different relay next to it just to see if it makes a difference). There's a main fuse link too. Starter(??). Type in (to google) about 'Ram key switch' too, they had problems.

But start with fuses/battery/grounds/relay/starter. Always start with the simpliest things b/c that's usually where the problems lie.

 

[okmitch77]

Welp, I have a update. It is fixed. As much as I would like to blame dodge for placing this connector in a crappy place. So, there is a connector under the drivers side dash on the firewall right where your left foot would naturally hang out while driving. There must of been a great song on or something because evidently I kicked it and it was half disconnected when I finally figured it out. Thanks for all the advice and pointers.